The is my second post in a series for short sale sellers about the important items to consider and questions to ask before listing your home for short sale.
The last post reviewed a few important questions that short sale sellers should ask any Realtor® who they are considering as a possible listing agent for their property. This post continues to review that topic in more detail.
I frequently get phone calls from agents and short sale sellers who ask me how long it will take to get their short sale approved. Short sales are very unique and specific based on the seller’s reason for participating in the short sale (the hardship) and also based on the specific mortgage lenders who are involved in the transaction. Some banks are slow; some are quick. So, there is no single answer to the question of how long a short sale will take to approve. Our office has worked with all of the major lending institutions and many of the smaller ones, so we can usually give sellers a general guideline based on our experience with their specific lien holder or combination of lien holders.
Ask any potential listing agent about his or her experience with your particular lien holder. For example, “how long does it usually take to obtain an approval from Chase or Citibank?” Or, “what have you seen with Bank of America with regard to time frames?” Here again it is important to carefully listen to what the agent says (and doesn’t say) in order to gauge their experience with short sales.
In general, agents love listings. Some agents will take any steps necessary to obtain another listing—even if they may not have the best qualifications for the job. However, if you follow my suggestions in my previous post, in this one, and in future posts, you will definitely pick the best man (or woman) for the job!
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